Zelina Vega Reportedly Impressed WWE Management And That's Helped Changed Their Plans

Zelina Vega has been enjoying a big push throughout 2023, with her "WWE SmackDown" Women's Championship match at the Backlash premium live event in Puerto Rico arguably being the biggest encounter of her WWE career. However, according to Fightful Select, there were slightly different plans for her originally at that event. 

The plan at first was to have Rhea Ripley squash her in that match, regardless of the geographical connection that Vega had to Puerto Rico. She ended up receiving an incredible response from the live crowd which drew a genuinely emotional reaction from Vega, and she ended up having a much more competitive match with The Judgment Day star. That's because a change was made beforehand, and it was noted that Ripley was happy to accommodate the change and have a back-and-forth match, despite the fact she was originally set to dominate.

Vega continued being pushed coming out of that match, and that was purely due to the performance that Vega put in which impressed WWE, as well as the reception she got from the WWE Universe on the night. A source close to the situation believes that the change was positive for all involved as it helped the company, Vega, and Ripley. 

Having a more competitive match didn't hurt Ripley at all as it provided a more memorable title defense than if she had dominated and squashed Vega. Plus, this allowed the LWO star to be seen in a different light by the WWE Universe, which is something that the company can continue tapping into moving forward.